So this happened on my mobile dash. God damnit, slugbox, go to bed you sleepy fuck!

Oh man, was THIS a lot of fun to do! In case you haven’t realized it yet, Cteno doesn’t belong to me. She belongs to the ever-talented Slugbox. One of my personal and frequent inspirations, Slugbox has an undeniably unique style and coloring that is the envy of all. I won’t lie, I did my best to mimic some of his techniques while blending it with my own. Perhaps the greatest compliment I can offer him in all this is that I feel his work has really made me a better artist and pushes me to continue to improve. I hope you like it, Slug, and the rest of you like it too!

-TB

I was gonna draw some Linda or perhaps some fanart for an artist I haven’t drawn something for… but then I drew Cteno again. Damnit slug, why you design such cute characters?

-TB

Sooooooo happy I didn’t abandon this! She is an utter delight to color. This is just the flat colors but I still wanted to share it. Cteno of coarse belongs to the ever-talented Slugbox. The spots were much more fun to do than I had expected! I’ll probably give this the full shading treatment soon enough but for now, I hope you all enjoy the flats.

Look ma, I can Cteno!

Naturally, this isn’t my character. She belongs to the incredibly-talented Slugbox. I suppose you could say this is a WIP though I’m actually not sure if I’m going to color it. It’s not because I don’t like the drawing. I actually love it! It’s just… (confidence waning) I’m really not sure if I CAN. She’s a gorgeous character with a stunning color scheme and if there’s one thing Slugbox excels at, it’s coloring. Cteno is no exception to this. Even without shading, her coloration is… well, I think it may be beyond me. Her cute freckles and spots, gradients leading to full color shifts, even the blending of sharp and soft contrast points… I simply worry that if I try and take on the complexities of the character, I’ll find myself more frustrated than satisfied.

Perhaps I’m just being silly, hesitant to push myself and experiment. Maybe I’m just afraid that I’ll draw the first Cteno that Slugbox doesn’t like (which I’m actually quite certain is impossible). Or, much more likely, I’m trying to hold myself up to impossible standards instead of simply doing everything I can with what I’ve got. I’ve heard many times that it’s foolish to compare your own art with anothers (especially if they are a professional and you are a hobbyist) but it’s hard not to when you’re drawing something of theirs.

Perhaps if I strike up the courage, I’ll give this thing a whack with colors. I expect there will be much cursing. There will be far more undo-ing. There may even be some complete scrapping. Who knows? Even if I try, there’s no saying this drawing will ever see the light of day again… which would really be a pity. She is, without a doubt, my favorite monster girl.

-TB